Mystery of Mrs Miggins' Pies

Roost • Murk • Wistful Dark

◈ Mysterious

◉ Investigation

✧ Fey Forest

Adventure Description

Mrs Miggins' pie shop is the first place any self-respecting adventurer would head to on their way into the Murk. When Mundymutts ransack her shop and her secret spice mix is found missing, the party must follow the trail and uncover a rival baker's scheme before the Murk loses its pies for good.

Starting the Adventure

"Mrs Miggins' pie shop is the talk of every Shard tavern - her pies' delicious seasoning and flaky crust have bolstered many a venture into the wilderness. Naturally, as you prepare to brave the Murk for a research gig, you'd stop here first. But as you approach her cozy stone shop, something is clearly wrong. The door hangs off its hinges and the gates to the herb garden have been torn apart."

Mrs Miggins is tied up, badly injured, and unconscious. She requires stabilization (Physician's Kit, a Basic Potion, etc.) before she can talk. If aided, she explains she came down this morning to find the Mundymutts rooting around and is shocked to discover her secret spice mix has been stolen - the Mundymutts know nothing about it. She begs the party to help recover the spices, offering lifetime credit at her shop, and insists on reheating her last frozen pies as provisions for the road (one per PC, act as random Aptitude Booster Cakes).

Important Characters

Mrs Miggins - Elf, Female, ??? (Basic Folk)

An Elf who has been making pies for as long as anyone can remember. Lately having a tattoo-punk phase. Blunt but poppy.

"Bruised but bright-eyed, ink crawls up her arms and neck in floral patterns, and flour dust on her apron is chaos itself."

Symon "The Pie Man" - ???, Male, ??? (Werebear)

A person of unknown species, always in full regal armor under a baker's outfit. All show and no substance in his baking skills.

"The gleam of his polished breastplate is offset by the flour-dusted apron tied over it. He speaks with grand dramatic flair, gesturing with a rolling pin as though it were a scepter."

Holg the Herbalist - Gruun, Male, 60 (Mushdoom)

An older herbalist who lives just inside the Murk, visiting Roost to trade warnings and remedies. Big fan of Miggins' pies.

"Covered in moss-like patches and smelling faintly of damp earth, the old Gruun moves like he's got nowhere to be."

Crawford Ellison - Chib, Male, 45 (Sage)

An uptight, posh, and studious Chib who leads the Alchemists Guild. Offers protective arcane wards for houses to the townsfolk.

"Huge spectacles sit crooked on his nose and his wispy beard is a mess. For leading a frontier guild, he has the frantic energy of someone expecting an inspector."

Suggested Story

Set the scene of Mrs Miggins' shop, describe the ransacking, then continue.

Pie Shop Pandemonium

3 Mundymutts are ransacking the shop. They are extremely cowardly and will try to run as soon as one of them falls.
If captured, the Mundymutts can be easily persuaded (Negotiation with a free Minor Bonus) to reveal they were tipped off by Holg the Herbalist that there would be no wards.
Mrs Miggins offhandedly mentions that Symon "the Pie Man" in town would love to get his hands on her spice formula. A search of her spice cupboard reveals a scrap of black velvet caught on the wall - certainly not belonging to any Mundymutt.

Following the Trail

The party can investigate in any order - the Alchemists Guild in town (Node 2) or Holg's dwelling in the Murk (Node 5).
Alchemists Guild: Crawford needs persuading but his records reveal Symon was warded the same week as Miggins, still hasn't paid, and has asked for wards on a hut deep into Murk.
Holg's Hut: Holg has had a bad feeling about organizing the raid and is keen to make amends. He reveals Symon used him as a go-between but knows nothing about the spice mix theft itself. He can give directions to the shack.

The Shack & The Showdown

The shack is trapped with a (literal) bear trap. Past the locked door is Symon's laboratory, where the spice mix can be found.
If the party recovers the spice mix and confronts Symon at his shop in Roost, he fights to silence them, giving dramatic monologues about how Miggins stole his family's secret recipe.

Sources & Adversaries

Storybeats & layout inspired from The Goblins
and the Pie Shop by Grant Sheridan.

Werebear by Yan Kodiac (Homebrew)
Mushdoom: BREAK!! Blog (Freebie)
Chompa/Proudhound/Snarl: Source Book, pg. 368/402/436.

Key Locations

Mrs Miggins' Pie Shop

"A cozy stone shop from which the smell of delicious baking normally drifts, its door now hangs ajar and the cottage garden gates have been torn from their hinges."

Despite the ransacking, the place still smells faintly of cinnamon. Flour-dusted shelves line the walls and a modest kitchen sits behind a serving counter. Freshly paid-up magical wards from the Alchemists Guild should have kept intruders out.

Alchemists Guild

"A bone carapace of some massive horned creature, propped up on bricks at the edge of town. Smoke puffs from a clipped horn while alchemical trinkets dangle from the other."

The Guild sells Anti-Hazard Suits for travel. Crawford requires Negotiation to cooperate, boosted by offering a pie or promising help on a brutal deadline.
The warding roster can be found in his back office. If caught: Grit Check or become Ballooned from their own wards.

The Murk

"Towering bioluminescent fungi are the only light source in the dark, and the canopy shifts despite no wind. Sounds carry strangely here - laughter from no one, footsteps that aren't yours."

Emphasize the creepy, fey atmosphere of Murk and how the flora often seems alive.

Random Encounters during Travel can be a Petrifrog (Homebrew) or Mutts. To extend the adventure, consider a Bog Willow (Homebrew) at the map's Lizard Hollow.

Minor Locations

White Lion Tavern: The local watering hole where adventurers gather before heading into the Murk. Rumors flow freely here.

Symon's Pie Shop: Freshly painted and gorgeously adorned, the aroma is disappointingly stale and the meat under-seasoned. Shelves groan with unsold pies.

Symon's Shack: A falling-down shack deep in the Murk, sitting alone on an island over a shallow pond. See Location Key Node 7.

Secrets & Clues

Mrs Miggins' magical wards were standard-issue from the Alchemists Guild, changed weekly - anyone warded that same week could bypass them.
Symon had his wards installed the same week as Mrs Miggins, and still hasn't paid for them.
Symon used Holg as a go-between to get the Mundymutts to ransack the shop as a cover-up, after his own men had already stolen the spice mix the night before.
Holg is quite fond of Mrs Miggins and didn't go himself - he sent the Mutts on the condition they wouldn't hurt her.
Symon has asked Crawford for wards on a remote shack deeper in the forest - "a godforsaken place that surely can't be his next business venture."
A scrap of black velvet found in Miggins' spice cupboard certainly doesn't belong to any Mundymutt - a clear sign someone else was here first.
Mrs Miggins vaguely recalls that Symon claims she stole his family's recipe generations ago - a grudge he (and, if true, his entire family) has clearly never let go of.
Rumor around Roost is that Symon comes from a genuine Shard noble family, and is trying to prove himself to them.
Holg often throws odd jobs to the Murk Mutts tribe in return for help with distracting adventurers from his herb patches.

Quest Resolution

☆ Handling Symon

The party can play at Symon's familial honor for him to back down, fight him in his shop, or tip off the authorities with proof.
On Symon: 50C, Engraved Rolling Pin [Mighty Weapon, Minor Bonus on Cooking Checks], Magnificent Heavy Armor.

✦ Rewards

Mrs Miggins provides the party a lifetime pie credit and 1 Gem. Recipe back in hand, she whips up way too many fresh pies for the party.

Rank 2-3 Adventure

Lower Rank: Swap Symon's Werebear stats for a Proudhound.

Higher Rank: Add a Snarl to Symon's fight. Swap the Chompa for a War Drone.

PC Starting Coin: 300C

Path [Source, pg. 244]

Trailblazing [Source, pg. 244]

Hazard Zone

Roost

④ Murk Outskirts

⑥ Deep Murk

1/2 Day

1 Day

Location Key

1 Mrs Miggins' Shop Start

The adventure's starting point. Mrs Miggins' stone building is in upper Roost, currently ransacked. The Alchemists Guild and Symon's Pie Shop are a short walk across the village.

2 Alchemists Guild GMC

On the edge of town. Crawford's records reveal who all was warded that week (Miggins, Symon, and Ferryman Rezzik). The location of the Shack (via Symon's ward request) is also present.

Graduate student (Chib named Jeremie) can act as a Guide.

3 Symon's Pie Shop Loot Encounter

In the village. The final confrontation point if the party presents
solid evidence. Symon (and optionally a Snarl) fights here.

Hidden in the back is a sappy, incriminating personal diary.

4 Murk Outskirts Harmful Terrain

Half a Day's Travel from Roost to Holg's Hut on a Path. Each Journey Check, all Players must make an Aura Check or take a level of Fatigue as the Murk's flora drains their energy. Avoided by being a Bio-Mechanoid or wearing a Rebreather/Anti-Hazard Suit.

5 Holg's Hut Encounter

An isolated, tumbledown cottage deeper into the woods. Holg waves the party away but can be persuaded via Negotiation or subdued in Combat (surrenders at 2 Hearts or below). He reveals Symon used him as a go-between for the Mundymutt raid, but knows nothing about the spice mix theft itself. He gives directions to the Shack.

If any PC is Fatigued, he offers a tea remedy as a show of good faith. In exchange for a pie, he gives 2 Jellyfication Antidotes.

6 Deep Murk Harmful Terrain

1 Day's Travel from either Holg's or Roost via Trailblazing. Each Journey Check, all Players must make a Grit Check or become Jellyfied as bioluminescent spores touch their skin. Avoided by being a Bio-Mechanoid or wearing an Anti-Hazard Suit.

7 The Shack Trap Guardian Encounter

An eerie, falling-down shack on an island over a shallow, knee-high pond. The door reads "Bear Trap, beware." If any Player is Jellyfied, the pond counts as Harmful Terrain to them.

Art by CrimsBacon

Inside, a staircase leads down to a stone-fortified hallway. A solitary, clearly visible bear trap sits in the middle of the room before a heavy locked stone door - but this is a decoy.
The real trap is a pressure plate in front of the door. Insight Check (or Cautious Movement) to detect it. If set off, a Chompa drops from the ceiling with a large stone key around its neck.

8 Symon's Laboratory Loot

Past the locked door, Symon has set this up as a secret lab to duplicate Mrs Miggins' spice mix. Shelves are lined with herbs and spices, and different crust mixtures sit in an ice-box alongside packets of Miggins' pies. Hidden in the shelves is Mrs Miggins' Secret Recipe, with the label half-peeled off.